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Case study
Alex B.
Alex earned a promotion and expanded his scope to platform initiatives.
Who Alex is.
- A fintech data company serving investment professionals
- Staff-level PM, 10 years in ad tech/fintech and data platforms
- Eight years in role; perceived as "the technical guy"; stalled on promotion
- Goals: promotion, clearer PM strengths, credible job-search plan
What stuck.
- Mixed signals: positive review but promo nomination denied
- Wanted to improve manager relationship; 1:1s stuck on status
- Low visibility with calibration committee; unclear promo criteria
How we worked.
- Built his promotion case: clarified level rubric, gathered evidence, wrote a one-page promo brief with measurable impact, scope, and peer corroboration.
- Reset the manager relationship: switched from pushback to inquiry, moved status out of 1:1s, set a monthly "career and scope" cadence, aligned on 90-day outcomes.
- Fixed optics and narrative: executive-ready updates (Why now → Decision → Impact), stakeholder map, demo strategy to surface wins at the right forums.
- Navigated process: identified promo calendar, decision owners, and pre-reads; secured skip-level sponsorship and peer signal.
Artifacts we built.
- Promotion one-pager + packet checklist
- Stakeholder alignment and influence plan
- Executive update template (5-slide "decision first")
- 90-day scope plan tied to rubric language
- Offer-negotiation playbook
What changed.
- Alex earned a promotion in the next cycle and expanded his role scope to platform initiatives.
- His manager's feedback shifted from "technical IC" to "drives cross-team outcomes."
- He advanced through multiple interview loops and got an offer from a tier-1 platform company.
Why it worked.
- Evidence-first promo packet mapped to the company rubric
- Sponsorship and visibility engineered ahead of calibration
- Consistent executive-grade communication replacing status soup
Build your own promotion case.
30 minutes, no charge. We discuss what is actually stuck and whether a coaching engagement is the right next move.